WASHINGTON, March 13, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity is proud to announce that the Foundation is serving on three subcommittees of Sustainable Healthy Communities, LLC, founded by the National Minority Quality Forum. As one of two US patient advocacy organizations on the Diverse Cancer Communities Working Group (CWG), LUNGevity will bring years of expertise in supporting the lung cancer community to the Cancer Index Subcommittee, the Community and Patient Engagement Subcommittee, and the Diversity in Clinical Research Subcommittee. "We are proud to work with LUNGevity on the Cancer Working Group, given the importance of always asking for and listening to the patient point of view," said Jeanne M. Regnante, Chair of the CWG.

The overarching goal of the Working Group is to 'spotlight existing inequities in order to identify and deliver solutions to eliminate barriers to lung cancer screening, referral to appropriate healthcare providers, access to treatment, care, support and inclusive cancer research for all.' Members of the SHC Working Group include national leaders in pharmaceuticals, government, academia, patient advocacy organizations and life sciences.

"We're especially honored to be working with SHC and its partners on eliminating disparities in detection and treatment for cancer patients," said Andrea Ferris, CEO of LUNGevity. "To achieve our vision of a world where no one dies of lung cancer, we continually strive to identify unreached populations and supply them with information and tools they need to improve their access to care."

Ms. Ferris will be a speaker at the 2018 NMQF Leadership Summit on Health Disparities and Spring Health Braintrust in Washington, DC this April. She and Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, LUNGevity Director of Translational Research Program/Director of Patient FoRCe, will represent the Foundation on the three subcommittees and all future initiatives.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity is the nation's leading lung cancer organization investing in lifesaving, translational research and providing support services and education for patients and caregivers. LUNGevity's goals are three-fold: (1) accelerate research to patients, (2) empower patients to be active participants in their treatment decisions, and (3) remove barriers that patients face in accessing the right treatments.

LUNGevity Foundation is firmly committed to making an immediate impact on increasing quality of life and survivorship of people with lung cancer by accelerating research into early detection and more effective treatments, as well as by providing community, support, and education for all those affected by the disease. LUNGevity's comprehensive resources include a medically vetted website, a toll-free HelpLine in partnership with CancerCare®, a unique Lung Cancer Navigator app, peer-to-peer mentoring for patients and caregivers (LUNGevity LifeLine), and survivorship conferences. LUNGevity also helps patients find and navigate clinical trials through our Clinical Trial Finder tool, a Clinical Trial Ambassador program, and participation with EmergingMed.

1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime

More than 222,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year

About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers

Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three leading cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined

Only 18% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically

About the National Minority Quality Forum and Sustainable Healthy Communities

NMQF was founded by Gary A. Puckrein, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer in 1998 to address the critical need for strengthening national and local efforts to use evidence-based, data-driven initiatives to guide programs to eliminate the disproportionate burden of premature death and preventable illness for racial and ethnic minorities and other special populations. Sustainable Healthy Communities, LLC, its wholly-owned subsidiary, is a pioneering health care improvement information company that continuously measures population health, providing actionable analysis to clinicians, health care systems, researchers, corporations, and policy-makers as well as patients, their care-givers, and community leaders. Through its exclusive data access, SHC uniquely promotes cost-effective health outcomes for all through big data analytics coupled with impactful visualization and education. The data analytics are reported in multiple formats guiding innovative efforts to achieve the triple aim—better health care, improving the health of the population and communities, and affordable care. For more information about Sustainable Healthy Communities, please visit www.shcllc.info